The fact that the Essence Condensate failed to… generate, as it were, made it clear that reaching the peak of G-rank wasn’t going to be as easy as Equinox had first thought.
Reasons for the failure absently swirled in his mind as he sparingly dabbed dollops of Lesser Healing Paste on the slashes across his left side, teeth gritted in pain throughout.
Quickly enough, the slightly burned tears grew numb, bleeding slices of varying lengths scabbing over at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Once the pain had let up for a slight tightness and irritating itch, he let go of his tunic and let it fall back into place while storing away the barely used, resealable sachet of light red paste back into his spatial pouch.
Casting his gaze over the Hushed Plains, he watched as otherworldly foreigners and natives did battle with metal-beaked poultry, Sunspot Civets, vulpines with a fluffy, verdant coat, and single-horned rabbits.
Bursts of blood red flames blazed within the widespread melee from time to time, fireflies of an identical hue ascending to the heavens to break up the monotony of chaotic, pitched battle.
Instead of wasting his time while recuperating, he chose to gain any and all knowledge put on display by those fighting – especially when it came to how, exactly, the beasts of the Hushed Plains fought. It soon became clear that they fought like normal beasts; with beak and fang, with claw and horn.
However, more… supernatural things, stood out here and there, as he watched on.
A bunny putting on an inexplicable burst of speed to close the range and pierce flesh. Sunrays bouncing off beaks that acquired mirrorlike sheens without any prior warning. Kits appearing out of thin air from amidst the lush grass, something unnatural even with their verdant coats.
And most telling of all, yellow spots across sunspot civet coats flashing with a dim glow, just before their claws acquired a barely perceptible orangey glow like metal ingots heated in an ancient, post-Champions era forge.
Equinox felt a slight twinge in his side at that last one. He briefly pulled up his tunic, checking the state of his wounds. Seeing that it wasn’t bleeding anymore, he nodded to himself, satisfied, then let the torn reddish-bronze fabric fall back into place.
Raking his eyes over the Hushed Plains once again, he stepped into the grassy expanse. It was about time to get back into the fray proper. He wasn’t just going to let Wyntir have all the fun, after all.
The unobscured Sun was well on its way to setting as Equinox ducked, Sunspot Civet sailing over his head in a failed pounce.
Straightening back up in a flash,, he slashed out the Training Scimitar in a rising arc, nailing the mid-air Sunspot Civet right in the ribs with a chorus of snaps. Yowling in obvious agony, the feline’s forward momentum was transformed into one more vertical, blood fountaining out as wet gurgles burbled from its pointed snout.
“Chicken behind you, Nox!”
At Wyntir’s warning, he whirled around, scimitar slashing down low with a slight twist of the wrist, only for blunted curved edge to clash with sharp pointed beak.
A moment later, the Ironbeak Chicken got punted aside; white-haired swordswoman kicking it away like a squawking, feathery ball.
“Thanks!” He yelled, even while circling around to Wyntir’s back in a run. “I’ll get the fox, you go kill the chicken!”
Wyntir did as asked without any protest. Seeing this out of the corner of his eye, Equinox fully focused on his new, already limping prey.
Before the Illusion Meadow Fox could go ahead with its vanishing act, he yanked out one of the blunted throwing knives from the leather brace encircling his left thigh and flicked it at the verdant kit.
With an inaudible—and admittedly adorable—yip, the small kit vanished into thin air; only to reappear moments later when the spinning knife impacted its shoulder, hilt first.
Gonna need more practice with that, Equinox thought absently at the back of his mind even as he sprinted headlong at the Illusion Meadow Fox, knowing from past experience that its shock wouldn’t last for all that long.
The kit shook itself, fur bristling, and levelled a vulpine glare on Equinox. With a louder, barking yip, it vanished once more, like a stream seamlessly rejoining the ocean.
Though it had vanished from sight, Equinox didn’t stop charging at its previous location. Some valuable experience had been gained after clashing with this beast previously, after all.
Once he was roughly in range, he swept out the scimitar in a low, horizontal slash, aiming for where the kit’s torso would be if it was visible. As blade met flesh, he fist pumped internally even as the Meadow Illusion Fox shimmered back into existence with a snarl. With its limb partially crippled, he wasn’t surprised it hadn’t made it far.
It wasted no time and lunged for his ankles, jaws agape and sharp teeth on full display. Instead of evading, he met it with a swift kick and slammed booted toes into furry flesh, sending it somersaulting backwards as quickly as it came.
Chasing after its out of control form, he slammed it, back first, into the grass mid-flight; dirt and grass billowing out from underneath its whimpering frame.
Similar to the first slain beast, Equinox stomped down on its stomach without delay, pinning it to the ground before slashing at its exposed jugular. After three slashes in quick succession, arterial blood gushed out like a veritable fountain.
He only stopped slashing at the cooling carcass once a ‘!’ blinked to life in his view. Instead of dragging the corpse back to the dirt road’s safety—like all the times before—he spun around, quickly checking on Wyntir’s situation.
A sigh of relief left his mouth when he saw she was doing… not exactly fine, but okayish, nonetheless. Leaving the Illusion Meadow Fox’s carcass in the dirt, he ran over, right up next to her – just in time to intercept an Ironbeak Chicken’s sharp beak with the flat of the Training Scimitar’s blade.
“You look like you could use some help.” Equinox sent Wyntir a playful smirk and forcefully backhanded the puffed up poultry, sending it rolling away.
“Less talking, more killing!” She bit back sharply, pair of shortswords brought together like an enlarged pair of shears on a harried Horned Rabbit.
With a little leap, the bunny hopped back and barely avoided them, a fresh pair of cuts joining the others and dyeing its reddish-brown coat an even darker red.
“As you command.” Teasing words floated in Equinox’s wake as he quickly dashed after the Ironbeak Chicken.
Blunted scimitar and piercing beak met in a light shower of sparks, poultry attacking with a furious barrage of pecks. Of the four beasts roaming the Hushed Plains, he had the most difficulty dealing with the poultry, especially since it wielded its iron beak like an extremely short, organic rapier.
After several more rapid exchanges, he stepped back, only to immediately burst forward by pushing off with the same foot, surprising the Ironbeak Chicken as he hoped for and letting him land a good, solid slash across its feathered breast.
He capitalised on the opportunity as it tumbled back, landing two more slashes before clashing with its beak in another shower of sparks.
Just at that moment, the prismatic ‘!’ gently flashed then dimmed back down, telling him another creature had been slain. He got distracted for a moment, racking his brain and trying to figure out what had died, but was harshly pulled back into the here and now when a beam of sunlight was reflected into his eyes.
Equinox immediately jumped back, uncaring of what might be right behind him, blinking furiously all the while. Knowing he wouldn’t likely trip over anything unless another beast or person had decided to get behind him, he continued backpedalling; doing so until the black spots swarming his vision finally cleared up…
Only to scramble and bring up the Training Scimitar in a fluster, fortuitously deflecting the Ironbeak Chicken’s allegedly iron beak skywards and killing its momentum. He had a strong feeling a feat like that wouldn’t have been possible if he hadn’t put a point in both Dexterity and Perception.
Reversing his swing, he brought the scimitar back down in a falling slash as fast as lightning, blade crunching down onto vulnerable skull and causing the chicken’s neck to bend at an unnatural angle as it flopped to the side, dead. In concert, the ‘!’ at the edge of his vision flashed for a third time, double-confirming the kill.
Sweeping his eyes over the nearby area, Equinox quickly picked up the Ironbeak Chicken by its broken neck before hurrying over to the blood coated Illusion Meadow Fox, seeing Wyntir had already finished off the Sunspot Civet she was previously entangled with.
Jogging past her, he gestured at the road behind. “I think it’s time to take another break.”
“I agree.” She waved at the Sunspot Civet lying dead at her feet with her shortsword. “Let me collect the beasts we killed, first, then I will join you.”
He sent her a lazy thumbs up, Ironbeak Chicken swaying in his grip. “See you in a bit.”
In a few quick strides he reached the blood-soaked kit and picked it up, feathers and fur sticking together in an off-sanguine, gooey mess. Seeing the ‘!’ in the corner of his vision reminded him of the second time it flashed, causing him to wonder.
After re-sheathing his throwing knife, he recalled the Sunspot Civet; blood flowing out from its pointed snout like a gushing river, ribs having cracked like dry twigs.
Casting a look over the area around him, he tried finding the feline in question but failed to do so. He did, however, spot two Sunspot Civets in Wyntir’s grip; pair of shortswords nowhere in sight.
Hopefully, the other Sunspot Civet was what he thought it was.
Leaving the blood-watered grass behind, Equinox jogged to the tightly packed dirt road and let out a subconscious sigh of relief once boots met bare soil.
Before he could mentally command the Essence Condensate generation panel to expand, Wyntir joined him; throwing one of the Sunspot Civet corpses at his feet just as she did.
“You forgot your Sunspot Civet.” She stated, as if tossing the feline’s carcass at his feet wasn’t Enough of an explanation. “You would not want to miss an Essence Condensate if one finally appears.”
“Thanks.” He nodded, glad his earlier assumption was proven true. “What’re the chances of one appearing right now, though? I’ve already killed like, 5 monsters.”
The partial silverette shrugged slightly while tutting. “What faith you have. Do you not believe in third time’s the charm?”
He rolled his eyes, mouth pulled up into a slight smirk. “I think you meant, sixth, seventh, and eighth time’s the charm. I’ve already failed a few times, if you’ve forgotten.”
She lightly swatted him in clear if wordless reprimand, leaving behind a conspicuously bloody handprint on his forearm. “I have not. There is no better time to try generating an Essence Condensate then, is there?”
“Whatever you say.” He shot her an annoyed look for further bloodying his arm. “How about you? Gonna try and finally generate an Essence Condensate, or are you going to keep the corpse to sell like the other ones?”
“See for yourself.” Without a further word, the dead Sunspot Civet in her hand burst into blood red flames; action speaking louder than words.
Seeing this, he nodded in understanding. “Good luck.”
Similar to him, Wyntir had killed four beasts before the Sunspot Civet. But unlike him, she stored them all in her spatial pouch, desiring to see how much each corpse was worth in terms of copper, silver, and potentially gold – especially since she had gathered one of each species rife throughout the Hushed Plains.
She flashed him a small smile. “To you, as well~.”
A bell gently chimed in his ears as he mentally commanded the ‘!’ to fully expand. Rapidly reading over the panel’s information, he mentally selected ⟨Yes⟩ three times in quick succession, having figured out he could do so after killing his third beast.
¡Dingdong!
Player Equinox has slain an Illusion Meadow Fox.
Generate an Essence Condensate? | ⟨Yes/No⟩
Player Equinox has slain a Sunspot Civet.
Generate an Essence Condensate? | ⟨Yes/No⟩
Player Equinox has slain an Ironbeak Chicken.
Generate an Essence Condensate? | ⟨Yes/No⟩
Both the corpses in his hand, as well as the solitary one on the ground, burst into heatless flames; wreathing his left arm in a bloody red corona.
“It looks like today is my lucky day~.”
Equinox looked over at Wyntir’s proclamation, instantly seeing the smooth, ruby-like teardrop-shaped jewel in her hand. With how long he had known her, her level of good luck didn’t even phase him in the slightest bit, having grown accustomed to it a long, long time ago.
Before he could ask her about the jewel’s information, the flames wreathing his arm and blazing at his feet winked out, catching his attention. At the same time, a pair of jewels materialised out of thin air mid-air and dropped onto the bare ground.
He immediately picked the pair up; both looking like sapphires even if one was shaped like a teardrop where the other looked as if it had been professionally cut and polished by a lapidary.
“It looks like Lady Luck is finally smiling down on you, too.” Wyntir congratulated lightly, clear amusement tinging her voice.
Sending her a thumbs up—and nearly dropping the pair of jewels—he said, “Thanks for the well wishes. I’m pretty sure your good luck rubbed off on me, this time.”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you really still insisting on that nonsensical belief?”
Though her expression made it seem like she was exasperated, the small smile stretching Wyntir’s lips gave away her true feelings.
He shrugged noncommittally, unwilling to retread this particular topic, knowing exactly how it would end, as always. “Let’s agree to disagree, yeah?”
Plunging the Training Scimitar, tip first, into the dirt road, he let go before pulling out and palming his spatial pouch, storing away the pair of sapphire-like jewels and reading their information. “You should really check what kind of Essence Condensate you got.”
Fragment of Reflected Light | Mana | Grade: G
Fragmentary deposition of an Ironbeak Chicken’s core essence.
Gem of Illusion | Mana | Grade: G+
Perfect deposition of an Illusion Meadow Fox’s core essence.
Perhaps… his initial worries had been a tad bit premature.
